Marchionne Kicks Off 'Beauty Contest' for Ferrari IPO

Italian supercar maker Ferrari is judging a "beauty contest" for banks--the prize being the chance to underwrite the brand's initial public offering, according to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne.

Fiat Chrysler will select the lucky banks by March or April, while Ferrari's IPO could be ready as soon as July.

"It won't be a difficult placement," said Marchionne, as quoted by Automotive News. "I wish they were all like this. The execution of this is going to be very short. We just need to be very focused on which investor base we're going after and once we do that, you could probably sell it by the time you and I have a bagel in the morning."

Fiat Chrysler is spinning off a 10 percent stake in Ferrari as part of a plan to raise $5 billion. Marchionne is working on an ambitious $54 billion investment project to boost Fiat Chrysler's deliveries to 7 million cars by 2018.

"You've got to be careful because everyone has a vested interest to give me a number that will make me feel better," Marchionne said. "But at the end of the day, the reality is when the rubber meets the road when you go public. So I think they are being sufficiently coy in giving us a wide range of values. The market will call it."